A very important figure in Fargo’s history is Mr. Jasper J. Chapin, who some call the “Father of Fargo”. Chapin was born in a New York, where he worked on a farm in his town after he finished schooling. In 1852 he left New York and headed out west to strike it rich in a mining town in California. He stayed in California for two and a half years, then moved back to New York. Unable to handle the quiet life of the fa

George Nichols was born in Brattleboro, Vermont in 1856. He moved to Marshal, Minnesota to work in a hotel, where he stayed until he moved to Fargo in 1878 and became a clerk at the Headquarters Hotel. Working behind the desk, he became popular with the people of Fargo and did his best to talk to every man who wandered into the hotel. After many years of working at the hotel, in 1885 he took the County Deputy Treasur

Fargo’s first significant construction endeavor of a two-story wood-framed building brought the Headquarters Hotel, the city’s first hotel. When NPRC completed construction during the fall of 1872, the hotel housed guests, government offices, and served as the railroad station then managed by W. Hubert Smith. The hotel was located north of the NPRC tracks. Wood frame construction was cheaper than bricks, but not as r

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The Fargo History Project

This project began as part of a Fall 2012 Digital History class at NDSU. With the goal of exploring Fargo’s history between 1871 and 1897, students visited libraries and archives to search for clues to the city’s history. Future classes will conduct further research and add to the site.

Do you know some interesting tidbits about Fargo’s history? Share them with us by posting a comment or sending an email. We welcome your participation as we explore our past.